1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lancet depth adjustment assembly structured to be interposed between a body part to be pierced, such as a patient's finger or earlobe, and a piercing aperture of a lancet device housing, so as to affectively define and vary a depth to which a piercing tip of the lancet is able to penetrate the patient's body part disposed thereon. As such a patient can affectively select and define a sensitivity level that corresponds their particular needs and circumstance in a substantially easy to use manner which effectively maintains the finger properly positioned and is configured so as to be conveniently and cost effectively configured for utilization with a wide variety of existing lancet device designs.
2. Descriptio of the Related Art
Lancet devices are commonly utilized devices which allow patients and medical practitioners to "prick" a patient's skin in order to effectively obtain a blood sample for a variety of tests. Typically these lancet devices involve the driving of a lancet tip into the patient's skin so as to result in bleeding by the patient, thereby allowing the sample to be gathered. Moreover, although these tests are often performed in a hospital or laboratory environment, because of the prevalence of many home testing kits, more and more, individual patients are turning to self testing, and as a result, independently utilize the lancet device so as to obtain their own blood sample.
Conventional lancet devices available in the art typically range from single use, disposable lancets, to re-useable lancet devices wherein an individual lancet can be removed and replaced after each use. Moreover, as a result of the increasing popularity of blood testing procedures, especially by individual patients, the field of art associated with lancet devices is quite crowded, with a variety of often complex and intricate structures being utilized to drive the piercing tip of the lancet into the flesh of a patent. In particular, the typical lancet device generally utilizes a disposable lancet, often of a standard dimension, contained in a housing for firing. As such, a variety of different, lancet devices have been provided, some providing for re-use through internal or external cocking of the firing mechanism and providing an actuation button on a side thereof for triggering of the piercing action.
Typically, most conventional lancet devices are constructed such that when fired the piercing tip of a particular lancet protrudes, at least temporarily, a defined amount from a piercing aperture of the housing. This amount or depth to which the piercing tip protrudes is traditionally a standard amount which is sufficiently effective to pierce the skin of most patients, thereby resulting in generation of the blood sample. Unfortunately, with some types of lancets, some patients and/or depending upon the circumstance, the standard depth which the piercing tip protrudes may not be ideal. For example, lancet devices typically are set to pierce a maximum depth which is acceptable to most individuals and may be necessary for some patients, such as those experiencing swelling, the formation of a callous, and/or who have normally thicker skin. Conversely, however, some patients, either at all times or at selective times depending upon their condition, are very sensitive and excessive penetration can lead to excessive bleeding and/or a substantially amount of pain. As a result, in such patients a standard, maximum depth is generally undesirable. Furthermore, it is also recognized that a wide spectrum of different lancet gauges are becoming increasingly available, with many companies turning to the manufacture of thinner gauge lancets which are necessarily longer. For example, a thicker gauge lancet does not have to penetrate as far to produce a sufficient sample, while thinner gauge lancets must penetrate further to produce a sufficient sample. Unfortunately, however, the increased penetration that results from the longer, thinner lancets, tends to be more painful and may therefore be excessive for some patients.
Accordingly, it would highly beneficial to provide a depth adjustment assembly which is substantially accurate and easy to utilize, and which allows a patient to effectively vary a depth to which a piercing tip of the lancet would penetrate their skin. Furthermore, such a depth should be adjustable either a single time, for patients that have a requirement for a varied and specific depth on a permanent basis, or on a variable basis for patients who require different depths at different times. Indeed, such a configuration would be particularly beneficial if a common device needs to be utilized by many different patients, such as in a household with multiple diabetics, merely by replacing the used lancet with a new, sterile lancet. (Of course, such multi-patient use of a lancet device is never recommended.)
It would also be beneficial to provide such a depth adjustment assembly which is substantially effectively and accurate, and is also cost effective and convenient to implement on a wide variety of existing lancet device configuration. For example, many individuals have particular preferences and/or needs with regard to the specific lancet devices that they utilize and/or have become accustomed to utilizing. As a result, it would be beneficial to provide a depth adjustment assembly which can be effectively configured for utilization with a majority of such lancet device designs, providing those designs with a beneficial degree adjustability, without affecting their normal mode of operation.